If you will remember, Barack Obama managed to turn out record numbers of voters in four different groups: black Americas, young people, independents and unions. Let's explore each of these groups and see where they stand two years later.

Black Americans: You heard me during the 2008 election .. I completely understood the reasons why black Americans would be driven to the polls to vote for the first black president. While I could not empathize, I understood based on the legacy of segregation and discrimination in this country. I can only imagine the pride some black voters felt when they cast that vote almost two years ago. Pride is one thing ... maturity is another, and it's time to understand that this particular symbol of our progress on race just did not and does not now have what it takes to be president. Look ... Barack Obama, though black, has never really felt the sting of discrimination. He grew up in the most multi-racial of American states. The problems faced by blacks stateside were virtually unknown in Hawaii. And you must admit that he has been pretty much absent on issues of race since he went to the White House. Oh, he did find the opportunity to call some police in Connecticut "stupid," but that's about it. Knowing what we know now, I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would support Barack Obama in the future, and that includes candidates running with Obama's blessing - those who will act as a rubber stamp for Obama's next two years. When it comes to these midterm elections, black voters can still make a major impact in supporting Obama and his policies by showing up and voting for Democrats. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies issued a study stating, "The extent of the Democrats' losses will depend on their ability to turn out their most loyal voters, and no voting bloc will be more important to them than African Americans .. If they can mobilize a strong Black turnout, the Democrats can significantly reduce their potential losses." Here's something you may want to think about. As long as Blacks cast automatic votes for Democrat candidates your vote will not be taken seriously. Democrats will assume you are going to vote for them, Republicans will assume they don't have your support. Now given that scenario ... why would they work particularly hard to either keep or gain your votes?

Now .. the youth vote. Voting is so not cool this year. Without a rock-star to send to Washington, young people have turned up their iPods and turned down the politics. As this college sophomore puts it, "In most midterm elections, there's not that central person for us to rally around." That's what it is all about for these young people - having a rock-star-like figure that they can all rally around. It is not about their local Congressmen .. the people with the purse-strings in their district. It is not about their local school board or ballot initiatives. Those things aren't sexy. What is sexy is being "cool" and voting for Barack Obama. With him out of the picture, fewer than three in 10 voters under age 30 say they will definitely cast ballots in the election next week.

Independent voters: The people in the middle. In the 2008 election, these people leaned toward the left. Now they are skewed in the opposite direction, big time. In fact, Republicans are holding a 14-point edge with Independents. However, one-third of voters are still undecided. So while many of them are leaning Republican, many have still not solidified their votes.

Unions: Organized labor has a particular vested interest in this election. Americans are aware of the stunt they have been pulling for years now, and when it comes to public sector unions, people are no longer willing to shell out taxpayer dollars to support union pensions, salaries or benefits. That would be why we are seeing last-minute efforts like this: The AFL-CIO has just launched its "most sophisticated" get-out-the-vote drive ever, sending out 10 million pieces of mail during the final week of the campaign. Union goon Richard Trumka wants union workers to "get mad and do something about it" next Tuesday. He wants workers to .. are you ready for this? .. "Stand up for a fair break for working families." The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has to date spent $87.5 million this election cycle, bragging that it is the "big dog." The union effort to keep Democrats in office is pathetic, but in the end it is always effective.

Also ... when talking about unions ... remember that the majority of unionized workers in this country now work for government. As government workers they have job protections and pension plans that are far better than those enjoyed in the private sector. They protect these jobs and pension plans by working to control who their bosses - the politicians - are. That's why you seem AFSCME spending over $87 million in this election. These unions have an interest only in growing and preserving the power of government. They certainly don't care about economic liberty or the future of freedom.

What Barack Obama did not have to face in 2008 was the Tea Party. This adds a new dimension of voters, some who have never been involved or even interested in politics until now. And these people will be coming to the polls in a big way, and they will not be voting for Democrats. The latest NBC News/WSJ poll found that 35% of likely midterm voters are tea party backers and they plan to vote for Republicans by a margin of 84% to 10%.

The election is in one week. I hope you're engaged; and I hope you keep your enthusiasm for seven more days. You can catch up on all your back issues of People and US Weekly next Wednesday.